Irish Language OS

cf_al_bs

Hey,

I'm planning on starting a project for an Irish language OS, seeing as there is no OS with full Irish language support.

How much demand do you think there is for such a project? Irish schools, businesses & home users could all form a target audience for this and possibly some government offices.

The OS would be Gnome based because it is the most translated so far. But it is still far from complete so the project would include native speakers to finish the task and provide a community support system to promote linux in Ireland as linux penetration and perception is rather low.

Do you think the project could be successful? (sorry i keep calling it 'project', there are a few possible names but nothing decided yet )

polishpaddy

Is it just the gui which will be in gaelic?

cf_al_bs

well gui of desktop plus many popular programs eg. firefox, openoffice etc plus stuff like irish spell checker.

polishpaddy

I think microsoft did this with office back in 2005.
Hasn't windows done this already?

cf_al_bs

there is an xp language pack which translates some ui elements but doesnt go much further
and an office add on for an irish dictionary.

seanybiker

If you're looking for any help with the irish translation aspect of it ask dlofnep on here.

cf_al_bs

seanybiker wrote: »

If you're looking for any help with the irish translation aspect of it ask dlofnep on here.

cool thanks. well it will be an open effort. like it currently is now for gnome. but with some promotion and guidance, hopefully. so anyone can take part.

civis_liberalis

cf_al_bs wrote: »

there is an xp language pack which translates some ui elements but doesnt go much further
and an office add on for an irish dictionary.

I have used that. It drove me demented. They made up half the terms as far as I'm concerned. Doing anything more than typing in MS Word required memory of where the item you require is situated in the English version.

Personally I'm happy with MS Word with a proper Irish spell-checker.

dolliemix

Hi secondary school Irish teacher here - i'd be happy to help and use it for work. My knowledge of technology is limited at the moment but I'm working on it!

challengemaster

Cool idea...not sure how much use would come of it, but it's definatly cool

One thing I just thought of... I wonder would people name documents/folders etc in English (Out of habit like) or as Gaeilge...

Orion

There's a Ubuntu team for translating Ubuntu and its sister-projects in Irish. Might be worth joining. I have no idea how far along they are but it might still be quicker than starting from scratch. On the other hand starting from scratch may well get it released quicker. So IEBuntu or UbuntIE?

@challengemaster: I'd guess the people who would use this would probably name folders in Irish even now.

Capt'n Midnight

There used to be a english-irish computer dictionary in the SDCC public libraries if you need ubber correct spelling

google gaeilge ubuntu

http://borel.slu.edu/gnu/
https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/gutsy/+lang/ga
many apps are already in Irish
firefox 3.07 http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
http://ga.openoffice.org/ - only to 2.1 though

http://pie.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055064011

cf_al_bs

thanks for the links!

great to see that one teacher would use it!

well it would use the existing gnome translations. the problem is that only one third of the 440544 translations are complete. the first step would be to gather a team to finish it off. There are already 52 contributors according to https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu

The difference between Eirbuntu (the name knocking around) and Ubuntu is that irish translations aren't included by default. They can be installed but its not clear to people how to get them or that they even exist.

Capt'n Midnight

If KDE is better translated you could just use kubuntu

cf_al_bs

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

If KDE is better translated you could just use kubuntu

sorry i said gnome but the launchpad translations for ubuntu include kubuntu as well.

dolliemix

great to see that one teacher would use it!

....and possibly expose it to day over 200 students every

cf_al_bs

dolliemix wrote: »

great to see that one teacher would use it!

....and possibly expose it to day over 200 students every

exactly! thats the attitude im looking for!
ok well there may be some form of a concept/prototype/preview/pre-alpha by the end of next week. Will just include what state the translations are in currently.

An Fear Aniar

Firefox has an Irish version:

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html


.

Grudaire

cf_al_bs wrote: »

Hey,

I'm planning on starting a project for an Irish language OS, seeing as there is no OS with full Irish language support.

How much demand do you think there is for such a project? Irish schools, businesses & home users could all form a target audience for this and possibly some government offices.

The OS would be Gnome based because it is the most translated so far. But it is still far from complete so the project would include native speakers to finish the task and provide a community support system to promote linux in Ireland as linux penetration and perception is rather low.

Do you think the project could be successful? (sorry i keep calling it 'project', there are a few possible names but nothing decided yet )

There's actually a lot available in Irish already. I'm running Ubuntu (badly, I'm still weaning myself off Windows). If you install it you can then change the language to Irish (ie all the menu's etc). As for applications look at Ríomhaireacht as Gaeilge, and there's more eg. PHP Fusion.

Agus ba mhaith liom cabhrú slí ar bith leis an tionscnamh seo. Is sár smaoineamh é.

cf_al_bs

Cliste wrote: »

There's actually a lot available in Irish already. I'm running Ubuntu (badly, I'm still weaning myself off Windows). If you install it you can then change the language to Irish (ie all the menu's etc). As for applications look at Ríomhaireacht as Gaeilge, and there's more eg. PHP Fusion.

Agus ba mhaith liom cabhrú slí ar bith leis an tionscnamh seo. Is sár smaoineamh é.

yeah its definitely fairly usable at this stage, but would be great if more translation was done especially for newer versions.

maybe now would be a good time to confess i know very little irish... so not entirely sure what u just said! lol! i think ive a rough idea but dont want to say for the shame of being wrong!
i do know how to set this up (mostly) and that there is a gaping hole in the market, so that's what i can bring to the table!

Grudaire

cf_al_bs wrote: »

yeah its definitely fairly usable at this stage, but would be great if more translation was done especially for newer versions.

I can always agree with more Irish on it!

cf_al_bs wrote: »

maybe now would be a good time to confess i know very little irish... so not entirely sure what u just said! lol! i think ive a rough idea but dont want to say for the shame of being wrong!
i do know how to set this up (mostly) and that there is a gaping hole in the market, so that's what i can bring to the table!

Oh - whoops! What I said was that I would like to help in any way with the project, and that it's a great idea!:D

An Fear Aniar

Here's a screenshot of Ubuntu as Gaeilge:



As you can see, some stuff is translated, some not.


.

cf_al_bs

thanks Cliste, i figured u said 'u would like' and something about 'help' and then 'thought' in the next sentence and i hoped it was a positive thought! thanks for the offer!

An Fear Aniar - oh great screenshot to show the inconsistencies. from what ive seen its similar in most programs e.g. firefox, rhythmbox, pidgin, etc. also last time i checked there was no irish installer? not sure if that is still the case but would be one of the areas id like to place focus on as its the first thing any new user will see plus kinda stupid having an irish os with an english installer!

stereo_steve

For a school/College to be able to switch between english/irish easily would be fantastic.

I'm sorry my Irish is not up to scratch to help with this. Good luck with it.

nobodythere

Linux as Gaeilge, I could see it now!

cf_al_bs

speaking of linux as gaeilge: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cf_al_bs/3380160902/sizes/l/
definitely not a final slogan but an appropriate one

Grudaire

cf_al_bs wrote: »

speaking of linux as gaeilge: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cf_al_bs/3380160902/sizes/l/
definitely not a final slogan but an appropriate one

Hmmmm, not a huge fan of the Eirbuntu bit - especially the logo. Too easy to make backwards Ireland jokes! :pac:

cf_al_bs

Cliste wrote: »

Hmmmm, not a huge fan of the Eirbuntu bit - especially the logo. Too easy to make backwards Ireland jokes! :pac:

oh god i didnt even think of backwards ireland jokes! lol! :pac: